Molchat Doma

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

Etazhi
New - LP - SBR-3037
Sealed 2020 Reissue On Black Vinyl. Second Release From The Synthpop/Post-Punk Outfit From Belarus. "Molchat Doma's Second Album, Etazhi, Appeared A Year After Their Debut, And While It Maintains A Similarly Bleak Tone And A Sound Derived From 1980s Post-punk And Cold Wave, It's Easily A Step Up In Terms Of Both Songwriting And Production, Sounding Significantly Cleaner And Having Far More Memorable Hooks. The Synth Melodies Are More Prominent, While The Guitars Take On A Nearly Surf-like Tone On Some Songs, And The Rhythms Are More Danceable. The Upbeat "Tancevat" Seems To Be About The Escapism Of A Dance Party, Even If Dancing In The Company Of Other People Feels Awkward, While "Filmy" Edges Closer To The Funk-influenced Side Of New Wave. The Lyrics Are A Bit Deeper Than The Band's Debut, Continuing To Describe Loneliness, Oppression, And Life Under Communist Rule, But Some Of These Songs Are More Related To Personal Feelings. "Filmy" Is About Facing A Harsh Reality That's Dramatic Enough To Be A Movie, Causing Disbelief In Love, And "Toska" Finds Relief In The End Of A Toxic Relationship. The Buzzy, Winding Synth Melody Of "Prognoz" Belies How Apocalyptic And Foreboding The Song's Lyrics Are. "Sudno" Ended Up Becoming A Surprise Viral Hit In 2020, And It's Actually One Of The Stranger Songs On The Album, Starting Out Foggy And Hesitant Before Building Up To A More Anthemic Second Half. The Lyrics Are Based On The Words Of Boris Ryzhy, An Acclaimed Russian Poet Who Died By Suicide At The Age Of 26, And It Describes The Difficulty Of Facing Life And Finding It Much Easier To Die. "Kommersanty," Originally Released Months After The Band's Debut Appeared In 2017, Maintains The Lower Fidelity Of That Album, As Well As Its More Political Nature, Describing How Businessmen Rewrite History And Flood The World With Frightening Propaganda. Etazhi's Subject Matter Is Often Harrowing And Unflinching, But The Songs Themselves Are Remarkably Well Crafted, Even Heartbreaking At Times, And The Whole Thing Stands Up To Repeated, Obsessive Listening." AllMusic Review By Paul Simpson. more

Monument
New - LP - SBR-262
Sealed 2020 Original Standard Black Vinyl Pressing. Includes Digital Download. "Belarusian Cold Wave Trio Molchat Doma Had A Breakthrough Year In 2020, As Their First Two Albums Were Reissued By Sacred Bones And Their Song "Sudno (Boris Ryzhy)" Became A Surprise Hit Through The Power Of Social Media. They Were Set To Make Their North American Touring Debut When The Covid-19 Pandemic Hit, Forcing Them To Stay In Minsk, Their Hometown, And Finish Working On Their Third Album. Just As Second Album Etazhi Was A Step Up From The Band's Murky Debut S Krysh Nashikh Domov, In Terms Of Both Recording Fidelity And Songwriting, Monument Sounds Much Brighter And More Polished, And Contains Some Of Their Most Hook-filled Songs To Date. It's Also More Overtly Danceable Than Their Earlier Records. Etazhi Flirted With Dark New Wave Funk And Contained A Song About Dancing To Escape One's Troubles, And The Best Tracks On Monument Go Further In This Vein. The Album Opens With "Utonut'," A Dramatic Disco Tune That Almost Sounds Like The Band's Attempt At Making Latin Freestyle, Complete With Orchestra Stabs, Busy Drum Programming, And Glittery Yet Aching Synth Melodies. The Nearly Hi-nrg "Discoteque" Is About Dancing Rapturously And Not Caring About What Happens Later. After A Vibrant Instrumental Bridge With A Trace Of Vocoder, The Track Ascends To A Higher Level During The Final Chorus. A More Spiffed-up Version Of Their 2019 Single "Zvezdy" Appears, Upgrading From Rough, Demo-like Sound Quality To Clearer, Less Reverb-saturated Production, And With A More Emotive Performance By Lead Vocalist Egor Shkutko. The Late-night Sophistication Of "Ne Smeshno" (With Its Bitter, Nearly Howled Chorus) And "Leningradskiy Blues" (Containing The Album's Most Haunting Guitar Lines) Leans A Bit Closer To David Sylvian's Group Japan. As With The Band's Other Albums, Shkutko's Poetic Russian Lyrics Describe Disenchantment And Profound Emptiness, And The Music Brilliantly Illustrates This Despondency In A Spirited, Even Assuring Way." AMG Review By Paul Simpson. more